The Companion is a lovely Fall cocktail, mixing the sweetness of pears with the tartness of lemons and a little pepper thrown in for good measure. There is a long, long story behind the name which, frankly, I skimmed through. If you would like to hear about it follow the source link below.
The Blinker first appeared in Patrick Gavin Duffy's The Official Mixer's Manual (1934). I learned of it from my copy of Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. It is a rather simple cocktail but tasty.
I found The Algonquin in my copy of Vintage Sprits and Forgotten Cocktails. In a book full of egg whites, Amer Picon and Boker's Bitters, it is a rather simple drink. I would argue that the proportions used in the book produce a rather bland drink. In fact, I won't argue the point, I will just come right out and state it. However, by adding a half an ounce more rye, the drink really pops. You get a nice whiskey taste, but it doesn't overwhelm the vermouth or the pineapple juice. It makes for a nice afternoon cocktail.
The Scofflaw was created in Harry's Bar in Paris in 1924, mocking the silly 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the production, transport, and sale of alcohol. The rest of world looked at Prohibition and got quite a kick out of it, so much so that in Harry's Bar, the bar of The Lost Generation, they created a drink to commemorate the law.
The Manhattan is the classic rye whiskey drink. There are many stories as to the origin of the drink, but I think we can safely say that it was invented in New York circa 1860. I prefer the story of the bartender named Black inventing it, mainly because I like the image of a bartender named simply Black. The Manhattan can take on many different tastes depending on the proportions that you use. I prefer 5:2 with 2 dashes of bitters, but feel free to mix it up and find what works for you.
Applejack was the drink of choice in Colonial America. It is said that George Washington produced quite a bit of Applejack in his day. It is made using the freeze distilling method. In other words, you take a hard apple cider and on cold, winter nights, you leave it outside. In the morning you skim off the ice. Since the alcohol doesn't freeze, but the water does, it gets stronger and stronger the more nights you leave it out.
Today, Applejack is more of a brandy, but you can still get a traditional Applejack from Laird & Company.
So, yeah... I'm not much of a gin drinker. I do like the occasional gin and tonic on a hot summer day, but for the most part, I like my liquor to be of the brown variety. That being said, whilst vacationing in Sisters, Oregon, we stopped by the tasting room of the Cascade Street Distillery. Their gin knocked my socks off! It was so aromatic and tasty! So, we picked up a bottle and on the way home we picked up a bottle of dry vermouth and it was martini time.
If you are going to New Orleans, by all means order up a Sazerac! The key to a good Sazerac is, well, perhaps there are two keys; the Peychaud's bitter and the absinthe. Now, a perfectly acceptable substitution for absinthe is Herbsaint.
Global warming! It certainly feels like it. For the fourth or fifth time this year we have had triple digit temperatures! As Adriane put it, "I didn't move here for this shit! Where's my nine months of rain?!" So, being hotter than all get out, we decided to have a couple nice, cool and refreshing drinks this evening. And being berry season, we opted for the Blueberry Rum Smash.
We're back! After a short hiatus from Friday Night Cocktails we are back with a lovely rum drink, the Hawaiian Queen Bee.